Goshen, Ind. — It was a tale as old as time, that included a beauty and a beast for the Bethel University Men’s Basketball team Saturday at Goshen. But when the scoreboard stopped and the dust had settled, the Pilots left Goshen with a convincing 83-65 win, sweeping the Maple Leafs and improving their record 6-5 in Crossroads League and 14-7 overall.
The first half was an absolute beast, at least offensively, as both teams struggled to shoot the ball. The Pilots hit just 32% of their shots 12/27 and just 2/12 from behind the arc. The Mapleleafs were even less proficient, canning just 8/25 shots in the opening stanza. Still, after an ugly opening act from a scoring standpoint, the Pilots went to the halftime break with a 33-30 less at the half.
And then came the beauty…
In the second half, the Pilots came out clicking on all cylinders at both ends of the court and broke the game open with a 17-0 run to start the half. Brandon Hunt had two buckets early with Tanguy Touze and Lutz each hitting a 3-pointer to give Bethel a 50-30 lead. Goshen’s first points of the second half would not come until the 13:43 mark, as Bethel’s lead would swell to as many as 24, before settling for the 18-point margin.
Four Pilots finished scoring in double figures, led by Drew Lutz with 22. Chikara Tanaka grabbed 13 points while Tanguy Touze and Brando Hunt chipped in with 12 points respectively.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Bethel shot 94.1% from the charity strip.
The Pilots were able to outscore Goshen off the bench 20-12.
Bethel had 25 points off turnovers while Goshen had 12.
The Pilots also outrebounded the Leaf’s 43-31.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Pilots will take on Spring Arbor University Jan 25, at 7 p.m. in the Gates Gymnasium. Check out the action on Regional Radio Sports Network, with pregame starting at 6:45 p.m.